Tuesday, 23 July 2013

HH Festival of 150 begins - 52 weeks to go

And so it begins - the Grand Green lady has started the count down until her 150th birthday (or, if we are being official about it, its Sesquicentennial) - but, as I will likely never be able to pronounce that, let us just know it less formally as "the HH Festival of 150".

So with only 52 weeks to go, we had to start planning - Needless to say, this week has been full of birthday excitement.

Firstly, and naturally, Superstar Tea cosy heralded the 149th birthday on Tuesday 16 July 2013 with a fanfare flurry. She did not don a hard hat - rather the hard hat donned the Tea Cosy and really got into the spirit

So of course I visualised how I wanted the Great Green Lady to look 365 days from now

Well ok - maybe Blairden is not quite our Green Lady! But I did like this garden...

and I figured maybe I could aspire to this - I called in the heavy duty garden battalions to do their thing - it was all about rejuvenation I said to them - so rejuvenators descended on HH!

They were ruthless!

And lopping and trimming became the flavour of the pre-birthday garden action

Ok, that done, I researched what other notable Sesquicentennials were going to be held in 2014. And you would not believe what I found.

Firstly Richard Georg
Strauss (11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a leading German composer of
the late Romantic era - most of us know his Salome and, being a music graduate, how apt that he shares a 150th birthday with HH.

So sad that the HH piano was ruined in in the fire - But Strauss will surely have to be included in our planning.

And, this will make Miss HH proud - 2 days before HH's 150th in 2014, Helena will be celebrating its 150th birthday! And why is Miss HH excited - because Helena is in Montana and Montana is the last name of this popular lady

Actually Miley has nothing to do with Helena or Montana! (In case you hadn't already guessed!)

2014 will be the 150th anniversary of the following literary classics - Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens, Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell (I feel particularly connected to this one) and Uncle Silas by Sheridan Le Fanu. Can you believe all these books were written the year HH was built? I am going to get myself the Wives and Daughters mini series - I will report back!

But beyond all coincidence, I have an all time passion for L M Montgomery and the Anne of Green Gables series - my mother and I used to just love the books and the series starring Megan Fellows. And so it is really little wonder to see what is celebrating 150 years in 2014?

PEI 2014 has been established to "support the growing excitement, pride and enthusiasm being felt in communities across Prince Edward Island for the 150th anniversary (Sesquicentennial) of the 1864 Charlottetown Conference" - that is good enough for me! PEI 2014 and Hanworth House share similar aims " raise raise awareness of the Sesquicentennial ... encourage community participation and ownership" - Let's face it - PEI 2014 and Hanworth House are practically twins! And therefore I am officially declaring Prince Edward Island and Brisbane sesquicentennial sister cities!

This Prince Edward island home even shares the same green with my beloved HH! I told you PEI and HH are meant for each other. Besides, I could wax lyrical for hours about the hard cover book my beautiful mother bought for me when I was about 8 years old, and the never ending hours of pleasure I derived from Anne's antics - and my lifelong secret passion to go to her beloved Prince Edward Island... but HH has brought us even closer. I now finally believe what I always thought was true - that Anne and I and Lucy Maud Montgomery are officially kindred spirits.

So, anyway, we had better stop this musing and get some action happening to make our sesquicentennials happen! To begin the birthday week, a strong coffee was in order

Then revised plans started to dot the office walls at The Green Lady...

And of course the boys came back so that was mega exciting! The utes returned - sending my pulse sky high!

And in walk the boys - Foreman HH

And our old Pete who has been on this journey with me from Day 1 - Crafty Craftsman Extraordinaire! And a Pommie in case you had not already guessed!

And of course on her special 149th birthday there had to be cake

and our tea cosy tart (who you might note dressed up in an alternative knit just because the special occasion called for it!) And of course the iconic red frogs - by official appointment to the House of HH - completed the festivities

The party guests included Sparky HH and his newest recruit!

And as the birthday week progressed skips were filled daily as we raised the roof!

Whiteboard HH was updated daily to keep the troops informed (and it received its fair share of graffiti from mischievous builders!)

The enthusiasm was up as the roof started to come down!

And as the roof came off, the devastation in the rooms beneath became even more obvious

HH Reno team conducted many a hallway conference during the busy week

But, because there is always light the end of the HH tunnel, the last Whiteboard HH announcement at the end of the week said it all!

Thank God It's Friday - and you know what that means - Friday at Four was reinstated with a vengeance. Neighbours HH were rallied...

Superstar Tea Cosy cosied her way into the esteemed gathering (still living it up in her birthday suit!)

And insisted on a photo with the glamorous gals assembled

And so the sun set on the birthday week and Week 1 of the HH Festival of 150 - thank you to everyone who shared it with me (including you) because, ironically, as the roof came down, my spirits went up!

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About Me

This is the story of a unique Brisbane Heritage Home. The 19-bedroom house, constructed in 1864, was purchased in late 2012 in memory of my mother. It was the same story exactly 100 years ago when Mary Weinholt purchased the house in memory of her mother. Honouring her vision, my intention is to return Hanworth to its original glory and once again be part of the Brisbane community. Progress was interrupted on 19 March 2013 when an arsonist set fire to the new renovations, devastating 70% of the home. This is a story from the heart - about the Grand Lady, her caretaker (that is me HH), my family, team, friends, the renovators, supporters, community and the house that will become a home for many more women in the years to come. And of course Superstar Tea Cosy (STC) who has come along for the ride!